Customer Reviews

Moonie Buddhist Catholic: A Spiritual Odyssey

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Thomas W. Case dropped his book on my desk at Data Recognition Corporation and I cheerfuly paid the entry fee into the Moonie World. I have known Mr. Case personally for several years, and was curious as to what I might find in his writings. I can tell you from personal observation that the book did not dissapoint; The Thomas Case I know and the Thomas Case of the book are clearly the same character!

Having said that, knowing that in my case my curiosity was piqued by the fact that I knew him, I did not then know what to expect from the book. What I found was a window into Moonie-Land, both the good and the bad. And there was good that brought Case into the fold. The spirit of comraderie, the idealism, the desire to change the world was a strong incentive of the cult. Unfortunately, the over riding desire to build the "material foundation" which included a rather lavish lifestyle for the leaders at the expense of bleary eyed, exhausted kids selling flowers in a Michigan winter played a stark and disturbing counterpoint to the idealism and bliss. Thomas Case saw this, and yet he also felt the strong "family" bond with other individuals at the grass roots level. The exploitition of the slave labor by the ruling class caused Case to wish to leave while the "family" and comraderie caused him to want to stay or come back. This was his dilemna for many years. He has woven the narrative very skillfully, and from the points of view of both himself as individual and as representative of his generation...as he said in his writings, "I lived in the Haight before it was the Haight."

Thomas Case experienced every echelon of the Moonies, from the lowest levels all the way up to their attempts to recruit or groom him for the upper echelons. He tells the story skillfully and sustains the reader's interest throughout the entire narrative. The only critique would be, while dwelling upon and giving good account of the Moonie experience, the remainder of the volume is rather slim. He wishes to round out his spiritual journey and it's ultimate destination...Catholicism...but does not provide the same level of detail as he does for his Moonie encounters. However this does not in any way distract from his compelling narrative regarding the Moonies.

For a window into Moonie-Land and, in a way, into a bygone era, "Moonie Buddhist Catholic."